


Like Father, Like Son

by Ariella1941



Series: In The Shadow of Empires [8]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family Drama, Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 06:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7880104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariella1941/pseuds/Ariella1941
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the wake of the Yavin IV event, Satele and Jace find a moment to discuss their son.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like Father, Like Son

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fumm95](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fumm95/gifts).



A month after the events at Yavin, the joint task force assembled to deal with the Sith Emperor’s return met for the first time on Coruscant. The large room was filled almost to the brim with luminaries like Major Alyce Traynor, the commander of Havoc Squad, Jedi Master Gnost-Dural, one of the most respected authorities on the Sith, Supreme Commander Jace Malcom, and Grand Master Satele Shan.

And, of course, Master Aryelle Thrace and Special Agent Theron Shan.

Satele sat attentively as she listened to the reports on the posture of the Imperial military since Yavin, speculation on where Vitiate might go (Korriban was ruled out immediately), and questions about his capabilities (Gnost-Dural presented somewhat redacted interviews with former Masters Tol-Braga and Syo Bakarn).

Much of the meeting, though, was taken up with the discussion about how the Sith Emperor had survived Master Thrace’s assault in the first place. Most of the assembled asked legitimate questions which Aryelle calmly answered, but Satele felt a disturbing undercurrent from some of the members who had difficulty believing that any man could survive the collapse of building after being beaten so thoroughly by one of the Order’s best.

 _How they quickly they forget Malgus at the battle of Alderaan,_ she thought, but that was unfair, as many of those in the room had either been children or not yet born during that first desperate war.

_There is no emotion. There is peace._

The Jedi Code was a bulwark against all the conflicting emotions thoughts of that battle and its aftermath evoked in her. But it did little to deal with what she felt as she watched Theron and Aryelle together.  

It had been easy for her to intuit what had happened when Aryelle had reported to her that morning to discuss her new rank of Battlemaster. Both Theron and Aryelle had acted as professional as ever, but the currents between them had changed. And the bond between them that Satele sense back on Rishi had strengthened further, which concerned her. But what was more worrisome was the fact that Aryelle Thrace was still a nexus in the Force. The fate of the Order, the Republic, and the galaxy itself would follow the course she charted, and now Theron was intimately a part of that.

Satele winced inwardly at the double entendre, but there was some truth to it. In fact, she’d begun to wonder if her son had somehow become an equal partner; that it was no longer just her choices that would change things, but _theirs_.

Not that that fact was any more of a comfort to the head of the Jedi Order.

* * *

 

“All right, Satele,” Jace said as soon as the conference room emptied, “you’ve been giving Theron looks since he got here. You care to tell me what’s wrong?”

“There’s nothing wrong exactly, Jace,” she replied quietly. “I have some concerns, though.”

“Would these concerns have anything to do with the fact that he seems to have inherited his father’s taste in women?” the Supreme Commander asked a little too innocently, then he began to laugh. It was a warm, deep sound that came from the heart. A sound that still made Satele want to wrap herself up in it like a blanket; safe and loved.

“I didn’t need the Force to notice the glances Theron was sending Master Thrace’s way during the meeting,” Jace smiled at his former lover. “They were pretty discrete, considering the circumstances, but it wasn’t all that difficult for me to notice. We used to do the same after all.”

“Yes, we did,” Satele whispered, and that was part of her concerns. The ones she wouldn’t admit to.

“I’ve dealt with Aryelle Thrace myself, Satele; most recently after that business on Makeb,” Jace said, getting back on point. “She impressed me when she stood up to Saresh over the refugees. Not many twenty-two year olds would have the guts to stare down the Supreme Chancellor, even if they are Jedi.”

“I know, and in some ways that’s part of my concern, Jace,” Satele said. “Since the moment Aryelle stepped off the transport to Tython, she has been mired in blood and death.”

“Wasn’t much different for you at Korriban, Satele.”

“Yes, it was, Jace,” she disagreed. “One of our own had fallen. Bengel Morr, one of the few who survived the destruction of the Temple at Coruscant, broke from his experience. He believed the Jedi weak and that we needed to be purged of that weakness in order to triumph over the Sith. He turned Tython’s primitive natives into an army, and nearly succeeded, but for Aryelle.” The Grand Master shook her head. “Her battles have been _personal_ , Jace. Darth Angral, Tol Braga, the Emperor… Even Revan. It makes me wonder if we ask too much of her, even with the destiny that awaits her.”

“Then maybe she deserves to be happy, Satele, even if it’s only for a few moments every now and then. And so does Theron,” Jace told her, “If you want my advice: stay out of it. They’re adults, and they’re acting discrete.”

“And it would be somewhat hypocritical if I were to get involved,” she sighed. “They’re _both_ dear to me, Jace, so I worry for them.”

“They’re adults,” Jace repeated, “and Theron knows enough by now not to make the same mistakes we did.”

“They’ll just make new ones,” Satele replied worriedly.

“Way of the galaxy,” he said gently.

Satele sighed, and decided it was best not to go further. She didn’t want to risk sharing her own pain at walking away from both Jace and Theron. And Jace didn’t need to know that it cut a little to see Aryelle and Theron together because of what it reminded her of.

“I suppose it is,” she said and quietly prayed everything would turn out as Jace predicted.


End file.
